One of the nation's busiest airports, Washington Dulles Airport serves more than 23 million passengers annually.
Full Answer
What is Dulles Airport known for?
Dulles is considered the region's international air hub, with dozens of nonstop international flights. Dulles has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the Mid-Atlantic outside the New York metropolitan area, including approximately 90% of the international passenger traffic in the Baltimore–Washington region.
How many people fly through Dulles Airport a day?
It had more than 20 million passenger enplanements every year from 2004 to 2019, with 24 million enplanements in 2019. On a typical day, more than 60,000 passengers pass through Dulles to and from more than 125 destinations around the world. Increased domestic travel from Reagan National Airport has eroded some of Dulles's domestic routes.
Is Dulles Airport open 24 hours a day?
The airport is open 24 hours a day and consists of a Main Terminal and 5 concourses (A, B, C, D and Z). AeroTrain is the automated airport train system for Washington Dulles International Airport, which connects passengers between the Terminal and the midfield area where the gates to concourses A, B and C are located.
What is the Dulles Airport access highway?
The Dulles Airport Access Highway is a toll-free, limited access highway owned by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to facilitate car access to Washington Dulles from the Capital Beltway and Interstate 66.
Is Dulles a busy airport?
How early should I arrive at Dulles Airport?
How crowded is Dulles?
How long are the lines at Dulles?
Do I need a Covid test to fly to Dulles airport?
Does Dulles have clear?
CLEAR kiosks for ticketed passengers who are already enrolled are available at the lower-level East Security Checkpoint and at the entrance of the TSA Precheck on the Ticketing Level of the Terminal.
Is IAD airport easy to navigate?
Is TSA Precheck open at Dulles?
Where do you park at Dulles airport?
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What bus runs to Washington Dulles airport?
There are several bus services (Silver Line Express, bus Route 983 and the Metro bus 5A) that connect Washington Dulles airport with the closest metro station, Wiehle-Reston East Station. Also, Route 983, and 5A together with 981 run to the Museum’s area in Washington DC. Virginia Breeze bus connect the airport with Virginia area ...
How many concourses are there at Washington Dulles Airport?
The terminal is open 24 hours and divided into 6 concourses (A, B, C, D, H and Z). AeroTrain is the automated airport train system for Washington Dulles International Airport, connecting passengers between the Terminal and the midfield A, B and C-Gates.
What bus service connects Washington DC to the airport?
Bus services. There are several bus services (Silver Line Express, bus Route 983 and the Metro bus 5A) that connect Washington Dulles airport with the closest metro station, Wiehle-Reston East Station. Also, Route 983, and 5A together with 981 run to the Museum’s area in Washington DC. Virginia Breeze bus connect the airport with Virginia area ...
Is Washington Dulles airport open?
The airport is open 24 hours a day and consists of a Main Terminal and 5 concourses (A, B, C, D and Z). AeroTrain is the automated airport train system for Washington Dulles International Airport, which connects passengers between the Terminal and the midfield area where the gates to concourses A, B and C are located. SEE MORE.
What county is Dulles airport in?
Most of the airport is in the unincorporated community of Dulles in Loudoun County, with a small portion in the unincorporated community of Chantilly in Fairfax County. The airport is one of the two that is located in the Washington metropolitan area .
When was the Dulles International Airport built?
Its original name, Dulles International Airport, was changed in 1984 to Washington Dulles International Airport. The main terminal was designed in 1958 by famed Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, and it is highly regarded for its graceful beauty, suggestive of flight.
What does IAD mean in Dulles?
Meaning of IAD. Dulles originally used airport code DIA, the initials of Dulles International Airport. When handwritten, it was often misread as DCA, the code for Washington National Airport, so in 1968 Dulles' code was changed to IAD.
What was the original design of Dulles Airport?
By the 1980s the original design, featuring mobile lounges to meet each plane , was no longer well-suited to Dulles' role as a hub airport. Instead, midfield concourses were added to allow passengers to walk between connecting flights without visiting the main terminal. Mobile lounges were still used for international flights and to transport passengers between the midfield concourses and the main terminal. A tunnel (consisting of a passenger walkway and moving sidewalks) which links the main terminal and Concourse B was opened in 2004. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) began a renovation program for the airport including a new security mezzanine with more room for lines.
What is the lounge at Washington Dulles airport?
Since many major domestic and international airlines have a large presence at Washington Dulles, there are numerous airline lounges within the airport: Air France: Air France/KLM Lounge, A Concourse across from gate A22.
Which airport has the most international passengers?
Dulles has the most international passenger traffic of any airport in the Mid-Atlantic outside the New York metropolitan area, including approximately 90% of the international passenger traffic in the Baltimore–Washington region. It had more than 20 million passenger enplanements every year from 2004 to 2019, with 24 million enplanements in 2019.
Who is the Dulles terminal named after?
Opened in 1962, it is named after John Foster Dulles (1888–1959), the 52nd U.S. Secretary of State who served under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The Dulles main terminal is a well-known landmark designed by Eero Saarinen, who also designed the famous TWA terminal (now the TWA hotel) at New York's JFK airport.
What bus stops at the Smithsonian?
Fairfax Connector Bus Route 981 and Route 983. Local bus with stops at the Smithsonian Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. Route 983 serves the museum and operates only during museum hours. Route 981 operates outside of museum hours.
Where is Metrobus 5A?
Metrobus Route 5A. Bus runs every 30 minutes to/from Rosslyn VA and L’Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. Also, it includes a stop enroute at the Herndon-Monroe Park and Ride Garage. Buses are available at curb 2E (Ground Transportation Level).

Overview
Washington Dulles International Airport (IATA: IAD, ICAO: KIAD, FAA LID: IAD), typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles or simply Dulles (/ˈdʌlɪs/ DUL-iss), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fairfax County in Virginia, 26 miles (42 km) west of Downtown Washington, D.C.
History
Before World War II, Hoover Field was the main commercial airport serving Washington, on the site now occupied by the Pentagon and its parking lots. It was replaced by Washington National Airport in 1941, a short distance southeast. After the war, in 1948, the Civil Aeronautics Administration began to consider sites for a second major airport to serve the nation's capital. Congress passed …
Terminals
The airport's terminal complex consists of a main terminal (which includes four of the original gates, "Z" gates), and two parallel midfield terminal buildings: Concourses A/B and C/D. The entire terminal complex has 139 total gates: 123 gates with jetways and 16 hardstand locations from which passengers can board or disembark using the airport's plane mate vehicles.
Ground transportation
Washington Dulles is accessible via the Dulles Access Road/Dulles Greenway (State Route 267) and State Route 28. The Dulles Airport Access Highway is a toll-free, limited access highway owned by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to facilitate car access to Washington Dulles from the Capital Beltway and Interstate 66. After it opened, non-airport traffic between Washington and Reston became so heavy that a parallel set of toll lanes were added on …
Accidents and incidents
• On January 21, 1970, the first commercial flight of the Boeing 747 was delayed, when an engine malfunction caused the aircraft in question to be temporarily grounded. Another 747, the Clipper Victor, was on standby, and flew the inaugural flight for Pan American Airways. The Clipper Victor would later be destroyed in the Tenerife airport disaster.
See also
• Busiest airports in the United States by international passenger traffic
• List of thin shell structures
• Thin-shell structure
External links
• Official website
• Footage of the Dedication of Dulles International Airport in 1962
• FAA Airport Diagram (PDF), effective May 19, 2022
• Resources for this airport: